The Governments of Belize and the United States of America today signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will enable Belize law enforcement authorities to utilize the gun tracing facility available at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms of the United States Department of Justice.
The signing took place at the Headquarters of the United States Department of State in Washington, DC, in the context of the US – SICA Security Dialogue held on December 11-12, 2008.
Access to the gun tracing database of the United States ATF will greatly assist Belize law enforcement authorities in tracing the origin and routes of weapons utilized in criminal activities in Belize. These efforts are fully in accordance with Belize’s national security strategy goal to reduce violent crime and dismantle local, cross-border and transnational criminal networks.
The Ministry of National Security will continue to seek practical and effective ways to deal with the problem of the proliferation of guns in Belize, and the gun related violence that is plaguing Belizean society.
The E-Trace Facility is an important contribution of the United States to the Central America and Caribbean regions in their fight against gun-related criminal activity. As part of these efforts, a training program for Central American countries on related law enforcement activities will be conducted by the United States in Belize in July, 2009.
General Lloyd Gillett, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of National Security, signed on behalf of Belize, and Mr. Carson Carrol, Assistant Director for Enforcement Programs and Services of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), signed on behalf of the United States.
General Gillett was accompanied to the US – SICA Security Dialogue and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding by HE Nestor Mendez, Ambassador of Belize in the United States.